The world is watching with eager eyes, as the Russian invasion on Ukraine progresses. There have been international predictions as to the extent of this war’s effect from professionals, ranging from increased cost of food prices, to advantages for African countries to become suppliers of fuel, just to mention a few.
In Africa, the effects of the world’s events have hit harder than people expected. Market prices of goods and services have been increasing on daily basis, and neither the regulatory bodies, nor the Government seem to know what to do about it. In Ghana, the Chief Policy Analyst at the Ghana institute of Public Policy Options, Dr. Charles Wereko Brobbey, believes the Government should leverage on the country’s windfall profits from oil revenue.
For the average African, the surge in fuel prices have caused more frustration than confusion. Most people do not care what is causing the issue, but have recognized a 16%+ increase in costs of fuel, and as such, increased the struggle to satisfy life’s endless wants and needs with only a little supply.
In a conversation with one of Ghana’s energy sector workers, she shared – “We are all feeling the brunt of the war which is now a global crisis. We are not deliberately increasing prices – we are also buying at a higher price, so it is really just business as usual.” Another average Ghanaian worker has shared his cooperating mechanism as, “Well, I have been walking more of late, to cut off some of the cost,”
In Nigeria, the pump price of diesel is expected to go higher, since unlike Petrol, the Nigerian government does not subsidize diesel imports. It is therefore expected that as the global markets experience the effects of the war in Europe, the cost of diesel will increase even further. Flight tickets in Nigeria have sharply increased, reaching an all new high of N50,00 (about $120) for one-way trips from what used to be about $80 in February. For Nigeria, the reason for price hikes is a wonder, seeing as they are one of the world’s most oil and gas-abundant countries. According the QuartzAfrica.com, Nigeria continually fails to meet its OPEC output targets and as such, Nigeria imports refined products at prices that become more expensive with events like the Russia-Ukraine war.
If anything confirms how much of a global village the world is, it will be this war and its associated effects. How are you coping with the Global Crises where you are?
